Beef Stew
Made this last night and had the leftovers today. All I can say is this is simply amazing. I didn't expect it to carry as much weighty flavor as it did since the only seasonings were salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaves. But it made for a healthy gut powwow. Yeah, good luck figuring out what that means.
The least healthy ingredient in this meal is the beef. And while we try to limit our red meat intake, it just feels good to throw this down the hatch and find a comfortable chair in front of the fire. It's that kind of a meal. It's an end-of-the-day meal because you'll want to curl up and go into strict food coma mode. But it's potent enough to give you the energy you need to go lift weights and run a marathon.
The only thing I changed from the original was swapping regular flour with whole wheat flour. It's only 3 tablespoons anyway, so nobody should notice. Why whole wheat? Because without the whole kernel, you're just eating the nutritionally deficient endosperm. Yeah, that's right, the endosperm is mostly carbs and very light on vitamins and minerals. Just eat the whole wheat kernel you pompous fool.
Best of all, this recipe had potatoes, so Jessica's primary source of energy was included. Can't take her lifeblood away, now can we?
Ingredients
- 3 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 3 tablespoons whole wheat flour or gluten-free flour
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 1/2 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes (choice or prime, I start with a 3 lb piece before trimming off fat)
- 1 1/2 cups yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced into 1 inch pieces
- 1 1/2 cups carrots, sliced 1/2 inch thick diagonal, from 3 to 4 medium carrots
- 1 cup chopped celery, from 3 ribs
- 1 medium onion, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 4 ounces white button mushrooms, quartered
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Combine broth, flour, tomato paste, 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Heat a large Dutch oven over high heat, spray with oil and brown the beef on all sides in two batches. Set beef aside, then spray the pot again. Add the carrots, celery and onions and brown, stirring about 5 minutes. Return the beef to the pot with any juices.
- Add the potatoes, mushrooms, thyme and bay leaves and pour the broth on top. Cover and bake 2 1/2 hours, (check to be sure it has enough liquid after 2 hours) until the meat and vegetables are tender.
- Remove from oven, discard the thyme and bay leaves, stir in the peas and let them sit 1 minute until heated through. Taste for salt and adjust as needed.